Sri Lanka government in vote win

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The Sri Lankan government of President Mahinda Rajapaksa has survived a crucial budget vote which could have forced it to call an early election.

Correspondents say that if it had lost, the war against Tamil rebels would also have been severely curtailed.

The outcome of the vote was uncertain as MPs constantly swapped sides.

Meanwhile a human rights group has accused the government of illegally detaining large numbers of minority Tamils and Muslims.

The report also accused the rebel Tamil Tigers and other paramilitary groups of perpetrating human rights violations on a large scale, including killings, abductions, extortion schemes and the recruitment of child soldiers.

Tension

MPs voted 114 to 68 in favour of the budget, which correspondents say was a comfortable parliamentary victory for the government.

Elections would have affected the war, correspondents say

But there was much tension in the run-up to the vote, as ministers and opposition MPs horse traded over their positions.

One powerful minister resigned from his post and crossed to the opposition just minutes before the vote took place.

Correspondents say that if the government had lost, it would have been forced to call new elections, which would have curtailed political activity in the country for months.

'Low point'

In a separate development, a London-based human rights group has accused the government of illegally detaining large numbers of minority Tamils and Muslims.

Minority Rights Group International (MRGI) has accused it of ignoring the rights of civilians in its renewed security drive against the Tamil Tigers.

It says that the government's anti-terror laws have led to the killing, abduction and disappearance of hundreds of people.

"This is just an indication of how human rights in Sri Lanka have reached such a low point," said MRGI spokeswoman Farah Mihlar.